Noise-sensitive 13 month old

[ebmummy]

DS (almost 13 months) has always been really really noise sensitive. We literally have to creep around the house for fear of waking him from naps/night sleep. I go to absurd levels daily to ensure he gets uninterrupted sleep including not going up to the top floor when he's sleeping (we live in a townhouse), taping the doorbell over so people use the knocker instead, taking the phone off the hook, whispering, speaking with our neighbours (who have 3 wailing banshees daughters) to try and be a bit more quiet etc etc.

Obviously I know I have contributed to this problem by doing all of the above, but it stems back to how crap a sleeper DS was (and sometimes still is) and how sleep deprived I was. He has only literally started sleeping longer stretches at night, and whilst I realise that I have to start to introduce noise, I don't want to mess up his sleep again. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm scared about going cold-turkey and just being noisy around him all the time as I don't think I could cope with the sleep disruption, no matter how short-term it might be..

He is our first child, so no other kids to make noise. Also, other than toddler groups, we are mostly alone during the days (he doesn't sleep in his buggy when we are out cos it's too noisy, regardless of how tired he might be).

Thanks in advance.

Anyone??

Don't blame yourself. If your son is a light sleeper then he is a light sleeper and there is very little you (nothing) could have done about it.

(I used to privately congratulate myself on my no-nonsense approach to noise levels resulting in my very heavy sleeping pfb ... and then I had another baby who wakes up if a moth farts in the next county, despite always having lived in a noisy house with lots going on).

How about a white noise machine? I have never used one but friends swear by them. You leave it running in his room and that noise both soothes him and also drowns out the sound of you daring to breath 3 floors down.

Also, for your own sanity you must remember that it won't be this way forever. It won't. He will start sleeping more, and you will have more energy, and either he will naturally become a heavier sleeper, or you will have the reserves to gently introduce a bit more noise. It will get better.

Dd was a ridiculously light sleeper too. If we walked past the closed door of the room she was napping in, it woke her up. It drove me nuts!

In the end, we experimented with putting an electric fan either inside or outside her room to provide some background noise, which worked really well.

On a plus point, she went from being the worst sleeper in the world for the first year of her life, to being an amazing sleeper (13 - 14 hours a night, plus a two hour nap) once she was over a year old.

Thanks ladies. I guess I'm just tired of having to memorise each creaky floorboard. And DH is also annoyed at me constantly telling him to be quiet as he walks around...

The only thing that concerns me about a white noise machine is that he will get used to it, and as we travel quite a lot, don't know whether it will be practical taking it away with us. It's already a nightmare when we go away as we have to go to bed when he does if we're all sleeping in the same room...

I haven't used White noise but you can get apps for iPhone etc so travel shouldn't be a problem? Or use an analogue radio and tune to in-between stations.

My DD (nearly 1) is a light sleeper usually too, eg won't sleep longer than half an hour at nursery. But she's nowhere near as bad as she used to be - in the last month or so she's got a lot better and is no longer woken by street noise in the day. The phone does still disturb her. I reckon just gradually try to creep slightly less and he might surprise you

We use a hair dryer as I find the white noise apps don't really fill the room and cover noise as well and the sound is somehow 'warmer' so seems nicer to fall asleep to. When we go away I just have to pack the hair dryer or make sure there will be one where we're going (that has a cool setting).

As others have said, it's nothing you've done. Some babies are just incredibly light sleepers. It's really stressful having to tiptoe around them especially whilst trying not to appear precious to everyone else. Lots of sympathy and hope things improve for you soon!

Yeah, I have the white noise app, but it doesn't always work.

It's reassuring to know that at least it will get better (fingers crossed) as he gets older. Can this be inherited? I only ask cos I'm a really light sleeper myself yet DH cab sleep through a hurricane...

I was a really light sleeper as a baby. My mum said that I only ever slept in 20 minute stretches because some noise or other would always wake me up. I'm still a light sleeper now!

Littlefish-I blame my crappy sleeping habits for DS's too!

Added a new 'Do NOT' to my list yesterday for DH to stop doing at night: Do NOT flush the toilet! (gross I know but desperate times and all that...)...